After being reborn, the aloof prime minister was once again forced by a tyrant.

Xiao Zhaoyue was still in shock, unable to come to her senses for a long time: "Wait, wait a minute, Wanyan Lie is still alive? And he's fallen into our hands?"

Xie Qinglan said calmly, "Not only that, he was also taken as a male wife by General Shen yesterday."

Xiao Jingyuan glanced at Shen Hanzhou, who was still grimacing and rubbing his back, and laughed loudly, "This kid has really made something of himself after eating sand in the Western Regions for two months. He picked up a wife, and she's actually the legitimate Third Prince of the Western Rong."

Xiao Zhaoyue: "???"

She looked at Xiao Jingyuan, then at Xie Qinglan, and finally fixed her gaze on Shen Hanzhou, her eyes almost overflowing with disbelief.

Her cousin, who was said to be able to take the head of a general in the midst of a thousand troops, and who had just led his army to a great victory over the Northern Di and become famous in the western region, actually became someone's male wife.

Shen Hanzhou felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze. His fingers gripped the hem of his clothes, wishing he could disappear into the ground on the spot. He forced himself to stand up, his back aching so badly it felt like it was about to break. He buried his head almost in his chest, not daring to look Xiao Zhaoyue in the eye: "This subordinate... this subordinate will go and summon him immediately."

After saying that, he ran out as if fleeing, but just as he reached the door, he tripped and almost fell face-first onto the bluestone slab. Xiao Jingyuan watched his disheveled figure and laughed with schadenfreude.

"Let's go talk in the study." Xiao Jingyuan naturally put his arm around Xie Qinglan's lower back, his fingertips lightly brushing against the fabric of his clothes, and said in a low voice, "There are too many people here."

Xie Qinglan paused slightly, glanced at him sideways, and her ear tips flushed slightly, but she didn't immediately pull away. Xiao Zhaoyue followed behind the two, looking at Xiao Jingyuan's unruly hand, then at Xie Qinglan's flushed ear tips, and couldn't help but twitch her lips.

The rumors were true. This ruthless and celibate emperor of Beishuo had indeed spoiled this Prime Minister Xie from Nanyue rotten.

The three of them moved to the study on the west side of Tingxuexuan.

The study was furnished with great elegance, its walls lined with bookshelves filled with classics, historical texts, philosophical works, military treatises, and strategies. By the window stood a large rosewood desk, neatly stacked with memorials and the Four Treasures of the Study.

Xiao Jingyuan spread the parchment scroll on the desk and personally moved a cushioned armchair for Xie Qinglan to make him more comfortable.

Xiao Zhaoyue pulled up a chair and sat down. Looking at Xiao Jingyuan's attentive manner, she couldn't help but tease him, "This is the first time I've seen you care about someone so much."

Xiao Jingyuan raised an eyebrow, poured Xie Qinglan a cup of hot tea, and said matter-of-factly, "Qinglan is the apple of my eye. If I don't treat him well, who else should I treat well?"

Xie Qinglan took the teacup, his fingertips touching the warm rim. His face remained expressionless, but his ears turned even redder. He coughed lightly, changing the subject: "Princess, you and Wanyan Lie must know each other, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhaoyue's smile gradually faded, and she nodded: "Yes. My mother and his mother are sisters, so I'm actually his cousin. When I was little, I went back to Xirong with my mother to visit relatives and saw him a few times. He was only seven or eight years old then, and he was very cute and fair-skinned, like a porcelain doll. But he was also very stubborn and wouldn't listen to anyone. He only liked to stick to his mother."

She paused, her tone tinged with regret: "After my mother passed away, I never returned to Xirong. Some time ago, news came that the Third Prince, Wanyan Lie, had been murdered in the internal strife, and his body was never found. I was saddened for quite a while, but I never expected... that he would still be alive."

"He was poisoned and chased, but managed to escape by sheer luck," Xie Qinglan said slowly. "When Shen Hanzhou found him on the western border, he was covered in wounds and had been unconscious for three whole days. General Shen mistook him for a mute girl and he followed Shen Hanzhou ever since."

"No wonder." Xiao Zhaoyue suddenly realized, "I was wondering how Wanyan Lie could be willing to be subservient to someone and become a male wife. It turns out it was because he saved my life."

Xiao Jingyuan sneered: "He's not willing to be subservient to anyone. In my opinion, Shen Hanzhou is the one who's completely under his thumb. Didn't you see how he looked just now? He couldn't even straighten his back, yet he still insisted on sending him back to the Western Territory."

Xie Qinglan couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile, a faint hint of amusement flashing in her eyes: "General Shen is a simpleton; he just hasn't accepted the fact that he's been deceived for two months."

As the three were talking, Shen Hanzhou's exasperated voice came from outside the courtyard: "Slow down! Don't pull and shove! What will it look like if someone sees you like this!"

Immediately following was a clear, pleasant male voice with a slight foreign accent: "What are you afraid of? We are... a lawfully wedded... husband and wife. Your back... like this, I'll support you."

"Who needs your help! I can walk by myself!"

"Don't... push yourself. Last night you... kept... complaining of... back pain."

"Wanyan Lie! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll get angry!"

"Okay... I won't say anymore. You... slow down, don't... fall again."

The three people in the study looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xiao Jingyuan suppressed a laugh and coughed lightly, pressing his fist to his lips: "Here it comes."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the study door was pushed open with a bang.

Shen Hanzhou walked ahead with a dark expression, his steps stiff, trying to appear normal. Wanyan Lie followed behind him, one hand firmly holding his arm, a smile on his face.

Today he was dressed in Shen Hanzhou's moon-white casual clothes, which made his skin look as white as snow and his eyebrows and eyes as beautiful as paintings. His light golden eyes shone like glass in the window light. His slightly curly long hair was not tied up, but was casually draped over his shoulders, with a few strands of golden hair falling beside his cheeks, adding a touch of androgynous charm.

It's no wonder Shen Hanzhou mistook her for someone else; just looking at that face, she really did resemble a stunningly beautiful woman from the Western Regions.

Wanyan Lie's gaze swept quickly over the three people in the study, and when his eyes landed on Xiao Zhaoyue, the smile on his face faltered slightly.

Xiao Zhaoyue was also sizing him up.

The young man before her was no longer the little boy who followed her around calling her "cousin." He had grown much taller, his features had matured, and he had shed his childhood innocence, gaining a more mature and dashing air. But his light golden eyes and the dimples at the corners of his mouth when he smiled were exactly the same as when he was a child.

"Ah Lie?" Xiao Zhaoyue asked tentatively.

Wanyan Lie snapped out of his reverie, looking at Xiao Zhaoyue, a complex emotion flashing in his light golden eyes. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke, his voice much lower than before: "Cousin."

Shen Hanzhou, standing to the side, was dumbfounded.

He glanced at Xiao Zhaoyue, then at Wanyan Lie, his mind a complete mess. Cousin? What cousin? How could the Princess be Wanyan Lie's cousin?

"Wait!" Shen Hanzhou finally reacted and shouted, "You...you know each other?"

Xiao Zhaoyue turned to look at him, rolling her eyes in annoyance: "Nonsense. My mother is his aunt, and he's my cousin. How could we not know each other?"

Shen Hanzhou: "..."

He felt his worldview had been utterly shattered. The "mute girl" he had taken in was not only the third prince of the Western Rong, but also the eldest princess's cousin? Did that mean he... had married the eldest princess's cousin?

Shen Hanzhou looked up and let out a mournful howl.

Wanyan Lie put his arm around his waist, "Don't... move around, your waist... will hurt."

Shen Hanzhou froze instantly, his face turning red and then white, feeling utterly humiliated and unable to even lift his head.

Xiao Jingyuan coughed lightly to suppress his laughter and spoke at the right moment: "Alright, stop fooling around. Let's get down to business."

Wanyan Lie then released his grip, helping Shen Hanzhou to a chair nearby and thoughtfully placing a soft cushion under him. Shen Hanzhou turned his face away, ignoring him.

Wanyan Lie turned and walked to the desk, looking at the parchment scrolls spread out on it, and asked—he spoke fluent Xirong language: "Greetings, Your Majesty of Beishuo. You summoned me regarding matters concerning the Xirong, haven't you?"

"Not bad." Xiao Jingyuan nodded and communicated with him in the Western Rong language. "The Western Rong king has passed away, and Wanyan Hao and Wanyan Duo are fighting fiercely for the throne. Internal strife has broken out in the Western Rong. I would like to hear your thoughts."

Wanyan Lie replied calmly, "I have no particular thoughts. Whoever wants the throne can have it; I'm not interested."

The three people who understood Xirong language looked at each other blankly, while Shen Hanzhou sat there looking completely lost, unable to understand anything, and could only idly pick at the tassels on the cushion.

"What's so great about the throne?" Wanyan Lie said indifferently. "For this throne, fathers and sons turn against each other, and brothers kill one another. My eldest and second brothers didn't hesitate to poison my mother's medicine and sent assassins to hunt me down for thousands of miles in order to get rid of me. If it weren't for Hanzhou saving me, I would have become a pile of bones in the desert long ago. I don't care for such a blood-stained throne."

He paused, then turned to look at Shen Hanzhou, his light golden eyes instantly filling with tenderness. He deliberately switched to his halting Northern Shuo dialect: "I... just want... to be with Hanzhou... I don't want... the throne... I've never... wanted to fight for it."

Shen Hanzhou's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He turned his head and met Wanyan Lie's gentle gaze. His Adam's apple bobbed, and the tips of his ears turned slightly red. For a moment, he forgot his earlier embarrassment and anger.